The 30-year-old slammed the Hearts man after Celtic's 2-1 win at Tynecastle on Sunday, claiming Walker is a "cheat" after he won a dubious penalty from left-back Kieran Tierney in the first half, which he subsequently scored.

Brown went on to quip that Walker's 'diving' belonged in the Rio Olympics instead of a football pitch in strong comments which prompted a backlash from Hearts boss Robbie Nielson, who said he was disappointed by the Hoops skipper.

Walker was later hit with a two-match ban for simulation in a development which vindicated the Celtic man's protest - albeit perhaps not the severity - but Sky Sports pundit Walker feels that Brown was wrong to say what he did.

“I can pretty much guarantee that Walker's manager (Robbie Neilson) and team-mates shook his hand at half-time knowing that they were now in a level game," he said to Sky Sports, via The Record.

“Equally, they will be horrified later in the season if they are on the wrong end of a dubious foul or penalty that results in lost points.

“That's why Brown's comments were immature and thoughtless. Adopting the moral high ground is a dangerous stance to take on incidents like this."

Given that Celtic went on to win the match after debutant Scott Sinclair netted a late winner, it is obvious that although Brown's comments were strong, they came from a real place.

It shows that he was not willing to turn the other cheek on the basis that the incident did not deprive the Bhoys of anything in the end, and such principles are admirable.

Shane Callaghan

Shane is a Dublin-based sports writer who swapped the football pitch for the press box upon learning that he was better with a pen than with a round bit of leather. Prior to joining HITC, Shane enjoyed spells with Sports Mole and Goal.com among others, while he was also club reporter for Irish football club Drogheda United.